Sometimes referred to as "90210," one of its primary ZIP codes, it is home to many celebrities, luxury hotels and the Rodeo Drive shopping district.

Originally a Spanish ranch where lima beans were grown, Beverly Hills was incorporated in 1914 by a group of investors who had failed to find oil, but found water instead and eventually decided to develop it into a town. By 2013, its population had grown to 34,658.

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Gaspar de Portolá arrived in the area that would later become Beverly Hills on August 3, 1769, travelling along native trails which followed the present-day route of Wilshire Boulevard.

The area was settled by Maria Rita Quinteros de Valdez and her husband in 1828.[9] They called their 4,500 acres (18 km2) of property the Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas.[10] In 1854, she sold the ranch to Benjamin Davis Wilson (1811–1878) and Henry Hancock (1822–1883).[9] By the 1880s, the ranch had been subdivided into parcels of 75 acres (0.30 km2) and was being rapidly bought up by anglos from Los Angeles and the East coast.[10]

Henry Hammel and Andrew H. Denker acquired most of it and used it for farming lima beans.[9][11] At this point, the area was known as the Hammel and Denker Ranch.[9] By 1888, Denker and Hammel were planning to build a town called Morocco on their holdings.[9][12]

Beverly Hills was one of many all-white planned communities started in the Los Angeles area around this time.[17]Restrictive covenants prohibited non-whites from owning or renting property unless they were employed as servants by white residents.[12]:57 It was also forbidden to sell or rent property to Jews in Beverly Hills.[18]

Burton Green began construction on The Beverly Hills Hotel in 1911. The hotel was finished in 1912. The visitors drawn by the hotel were inclined to purchase land in Beverly Hills, and by 1914 the subdivision had a high enough population to incorporate as an independent city.[13] That same year, the Rodeo Land and Water Company decided to separate its water business from its real estate business. The Beverly Hills Utility Commission was split off from the land company and incorporated in September 1914, buying all of the utilities-related assets from the Rodeo Land and Water Company.[19]

In 1919, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford bought land on Summit Drive and built a mansion, finished in 1921[20] and nicknamed "Pickfair" by the press.[21] The glamour associated with Fairbanks and Pickford as well as other movie stars who built mansions in the city contributed to its growing appeal.[20]

By the early 1920s the population of Beverly Hills had grown enough to make the water supply a political issue.[22] In 1923 the usual solution, annexation to the city of Los Angeles, was proposed.[10]:65 There was considerable opposition to annexation among such famous residents as Pickford, Fairbanks, Will Rogers[23] and Rudolph Valentino.[24] The Beverly Hills Utility Commission, opposed to annexation as well, managed to force the city into a special election and the plan was defeated 337 to 507.[10]:65

In 1925, Beverly Hills approved a bond issue to buy 385 acres (1.6 km2) for a new campus for UCLA. The cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Venice also issued bonds to help pay for the new campus.[25] In 1928, the Beverly Wilshire Apartment Hotel (now the Beverly Wilshire Hotel) opened on Wilshire Boulevard between El Camino and Rodeo drives, part of the old Beverly Hills Speedway.[26] That same year oilman Edward L. Doheny finished construction of Greystone Mansion, a 55-room mansion meant as a wedding present for his son Edward L. Doheny, Jr. The house is now owned by the city of Beverly Hills.[27]

In the early 1940s, black actors and businessmen had begun to move into Beverly Hills, despite the covenants allowing only whites to live in the city. A neighborhood improvement association attempted to enforce the covenant in court. The defendants included such luminaries as Hattie McDaniel, Louise Beavers, and Ethel Waters. Among the white residents supporting the lawsuit against blacks was silent film star Harold Lloyd. The NAACP participated in the defense, which was successful. In his decision, federal judge Thurmond Clarke said that it was time that "members of the Negro race are accorded, without reservations or evasions, the full rights guaranteed to them under the 14th amendment."[28] The United States Supreme Court declared restrictive covenants unenforceable in 1948 in Shelley v. Kraemer. A group of Jewish residents of Beverly Hills filed an amicus brief in this case.[29]

In 2001, LACMTA then proposed a bus rapid transit route down Santa Monica Blvd., but this was also opposed by the city and never built. Currently this stretch of road is served by less efficient Metro Rapid buses using pre-existing roadways.[39] By 2010, traffic in Beverly Hills and surrounding areas had grown bad enough that the city's habitual opposition had largely turned to support for subways within the city limits.[40] As part of the Westside Subway Extension project, the Purple Line of the LA Metro Rail is planned to be extended through Beverly Hills, adding two underground stations at Wilshire/La Cienega and Wilshire/Rodeo by the 2020s.[41]

In the midst of the 2015 drought, Beverly Hills was found to be one of the biggest water consumers in all of California.[42] As a result, they were asked by the state to reduce their consumption by 36%, prompting many residents to replace their lawns with native plants.[42] Meanwhile, the city government replaced the grass in front of the City Hall with Mexican sage.[42]

In September 2015, the City of Beverly Hills signed an agreement with the State of Israel to work together on water use as well as "cybersecurity, public health, emergency services, disaster preparedness, public safety, counterterrorism and art and culture".[43]

In July 2016, the City of Beverly Hills received the Livability Award from the United States Conference of Mayors for its Ambassador Program, which takes care of the city's homeless population.[44]

The Beverly Hills Community Dog Park was dedicated on September 6, 2016.[45][46]

Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together entirely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles. Specifically, Beverly Hills is bordered on the northwest by the Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel-Air and the Santa Monica Mountains, on the east by West Hollywood, the Carthay neighborhood of Los Angeles, and the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, and on the south by the Beverlywood neighborhood of Los Angeles.[48] The area's "Platinum Triangle" is formed by the city of Beverly Hills and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Bel Air and Holmby Hills.

In spite of the city's name, most residents live in the "flats" of Beverly Hills, which is a relatively flat land that slants towards the hills, and includes all of Beverly Hills itself. The houses situated in the hillside north of Sunset Boulevard have a much higher value than the average housing price for the rest of the city. Santa Monica Boulevard divides the "flats" into two areas, locally known as "North or South of the tracks," referring to the train tracks that were once used by the old Pacific Electric streetcar line that traversed Beverly Hills along Santa Monica Blvd. Houses south of Wilshire Boulevard have more urban square and rectangular lots, in general smaller than those to the north. There are also more apartment buildings south of Wilshire Blvd. than anywhere else in Beverly Hills, and the average house value south of Wilshire is the lowest in Beverly Hills. Nearly all businesses and government offices in Beverly Hills are located south of Santa Monica Blvd. Two notable exceptions are the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Just outside the city limits to the west lies the Los Angeles Country Club. Other locations commonly associated with Beverly Hills include the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the Beverly Center, just outside the city limits to the east.

Beverly Hills has a warm Mediterranean climate, with an average high of 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29.4 degrees Celsius) in August, and an average high of 67 degrees Fahrenheit (19.5 degrees Celsius) in January (source Weather.com). Beverly Hills also receives an average 18 inches (460 mm) of rain per year. Summers are marked by warm to hot temperatures with very little wind, while winters are warm to moderate, with occasional rain alternating with periods of Santa Ana winds. Measurable snowfall has been recorded only in 1882, 1922, 1932, 1949 and 1958.

The largest religious community are Persian Jews, who make up 26% of the population of Beverly Hills.[54] The Iranian Jewish community in Beverly Hills, numbering over 8,000, is the second largest Iranian Jewish community in the United States, after Great Neck, New York.[55][56]

The Census reported that 33,988 people (99.6% of the population) lived in households, 121 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 14,869 households, out of which 3,759 (25.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,613 (44.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,354 (9.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 494 (3.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 460 (3.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 131 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 5,400 households (36.3%) were made up of individuals and 1,834 (12.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29. There were 8,461 families (56.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.05.

The population was spread out with 6,623 people (19.4%) under the age of 18, 2,526 people (7.4%) aged 18 to 24, 8,540 people (25.0%) aged 25 to 44, 9,904 people (29.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 6,516 people (19.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.3 males.

There were 16,394 housing units at an average density of 2,870.9 per square mile (1,108.5/km²), of which 6,561 (44.1%) were owner-occupied, and 8,308 (55.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.0%. 17,740 people (52.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 16,248 people (47.6%) lived in rental housing units.

During 2009–2013, Beverly Hills had a median household income of $86,141, with 8.8% of the population living below the federal poverty line.[6]

There were 15,035 households out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.0% were non-families. 38.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city, the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $70,945, and the median income for a family was $102,611. Males had a median income of $72,004 versus $46,217 for females. The per capita income for the city was $65,507. About 7.9% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.5% of those under the age of 18 and 7.9% ages 65 or older.

Beverly Hills is a general law city governed by a five-member City Council including the mayor and vice mayor. The City Council hires a city manager to carry out policies and serve as executive officer. Every odd-numbered year, either two or three members are elected for four-year terms. Each March the City Council meets and chooses one of its members as mayor and one as vice-mayor. As of 2017, Lili Bosse is mayor, Julian Gold is vice mayor, and the other councilmembers are John Mirisch, Lester Friedman, and Robert Wunderlich.[2] Mahdi Aluzri serves as City Manager.[3]

The city of Beverly Hills widely opposed Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure which repealed legal recognition of same-sex marriages. The proposition passed statewide, but in Beverly Hills, only 34% voted in favor, and 66% voted against it.[68] In 2007, Jimmy Delshad became the city's first Iranian-born mayor, representing the city's large Persian Jewish population.[69]

Hilton Hotels Corporation formerly had its corporate headquarters in Beverly Hills. The original headquarters of GeoCities (at first Beverly Hills Internet) was at 9401 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.[70]

The large and still-productive Beverly Hills Oil Field has four urban drilling islands, which drill diagonally into the earth underneath the city. One drilling islands occasioned a 2003 lawsuit representing former attendees of Beverly Hills High School, approximately 280 of which having suffered from cancers allegedly tied to the drilling operations.[71]

The BHUSD has a public-access television station called KBEV, which is run by the students of Beverly Hills High School.[113] KBEV was founded in 1968. KBEV produces many programs, including the Norman News, which is the longest running student news service in the country.

In April 2016,[114] the Beverly Hills City Council passed a resolution[115] to create autonomous vehicles for public transportation within the next decade.[116] Mayor John Mirisch has said this is one of his top priorities during his tenure as mayor. "This is a game-changer for Beverly Hills and, we hope, for the region," said Mirisch in the press release. "Beverly Hills is the perfect community to take the lead to make this technology a reality. It is now both feasible and safe for autonomous cars to be on the road."[117]